Legacy
by Mai Kusakabe
Summary: When Sengoku decided to track down the boy with the Amber Lead Syndrome, he did it because he didn't want Rosinante's sacrifice to go to waste. He never expected that keeping an eye on him would mean becoming a grandfather.
1. Legacy

This is my story for Law's birthday :) It's the first part of a longer project that I will post as a series of one-shots and drabbles.

The chapters won't follow any particular order, which means I can post one where Law is 24 followed by another where he is 15, but I will tell you the timeline in the ANs at the beginning of each chapter.

Warning: spoilers for Dressrosa, mainly Law's past and chapter 798.

This story hasn't been beta-read, so sorry for any mistakes.

* * *

 **Legacy**

"Are we sure then? They don't have it?" Sengoku asked for confirmation, even though he knew Tsuru would never have told him in the first place if she wasn't convinced about it. Still, this matter was too important —too _personal_ — to risk any kind of misunderstanding.

"It's been six months already," Tsuru said, reaching out to take one of the crackers from the plate on Sengoku's desk. "There may be no outer signs of the operation, but if Doflamingo had really gotten his hands on the Ope Ope no Mi, someone would have eaten it after the operation was done on him. We have fought them three times since Minion Island, and we haven't seen any sign of the fruit." Here, Tsuru hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Also, as you already know, only one person aside from Rosinante is missing from the Donquixote Pirates, and I can assure you he wasn't with them in Minion."

"What are you suggesting?" Sengoku asked, even though he already knew. He had been going over the events from six months ago every free moment he had, and looking at them from different angles every time they received some new information. Or, more accurately, every time they _didn't_ receive it. Because that was the main issue here: nothing had changed, they had no new leads. The Ope Ope no Mi had vanished and the Donquixote Pirates were the same as they had been before Minion island.

"You know what I'm suggesting."

Sengoku closed his eyes.

"The chances of a small, sick boy getting his hands on one of the most coveted devil fruits in the world right under the noses of the Donquixote Pirates and managing to hide from them when Doflamingo had the entire island isolated are minimal at best."

Tsuru shrugged and took a small sip of his tea.

"I know, but, at this point, we have already discarded all of the options that made more sense. I don't know what happened, but if I had to guess, I'd say the boy finally realized he was in over his head, and when he discovered the Ope Ope no Mi could save his life, he risked everything to get it and escape from Doflamingo." Like every time she was going to mention Rosinante, she paused for a moment. "I imagine that Rosinante being discovered probably gave him the time he needed."

Sengoku didn't answer. Tsuru hadn't really _known_ Rosinante, she had heard about him from Sengoku, and they had met a handful of occasions while Rosinante was training at Marineford, and she didn't know, either, that Sengoku had ordered him to stay away from Minion. But the fact was that Sengoku had known Rosinante very well. That, combined with the fact of how little Rosinante had told him about the boy with the amber lead syndrome, and the six months he had vanished before his death, made Sengoku think of a very different scenario. One he wasn't sure how he felt about. On one hand, it showed how much of a good person Rosinante had been; on the other, it meant that Rosinante had lied to him and had most likely sacrificed himself willingly. That last thought was something Sengoku didn't know how to deal with.

"Tsuru, if you don't mind, I think I'll take that vacation you've been insisting on."

She waved a hand.

"Take as much time as you need, I'll keep things running here. Just make sure you're more relaxed when you come back; it wouldn't do to have you work yourself to death."

* * *

A month had passed already and, finally, Sengoku was close. He hadn't thought it would be so hard to track down a kid, which, of course, had been stupid on his part, because if said kid had managed to evade the Donquixote Family for seven months, it meant he was _good_. It hadn't helped that Sengoku hadn't wanted to ask Rosinante anything about the boy. In his line of work, Sengoku had been forced to make some very questionable choices for the good of the world, and had long since learned that it was easier to live with the knowledge that innocents had been caught in the consequences of those choices if he knew as little as possible about those innocents. Back then, it had been easier to know the kid would die as a consequence of a decision the World Government he served had made a century ago if he didn't know anything about him, if in his mind the kid remained as 'the boy with the amber lead syndrome' instead of someone with a name, a face and a personality.

He had paid for that decision when he had started his search.

It had taken a week of asking around Minion island for him to find a lead on the boy, but finally Sengoku had met the patron of a transport ship —who was still bringing shipments of construction materials to the island to fix the damage done to it— that, a couple of days after the incident, had agreed to take a boy to a nearby island on one of his trips. The man had been able to give Sengoku a general description: around thirteen years old, looked a little ill —Sengoku had managed to discreetly learn that, though pale, there had been nothing off about his skin— dark hair, wore a very distinctive white fluffy hat with black spots and had dark shadows under his eyes. Eyes that, the man had told him, were _creepy_ : he said they had made most of the crew feel uneasy. The kid hadn't given them a name.

The boy had had some treasure with him, and that was the reason the patron had agreed to take him along.

After talking to the man, Sengoku had been reasonably sure it was the boy he was looking for, and had gone to the island he had been taken to.

Sengoku had spent nearly a week at that second island, correctly guessing the boy must have exchanged the treasure he had been carrying, until he had found the bank where he did it. The banker had looked nervous when Sengoku had talked to him, and some prodding had him confessing that he had tried to swindle the boy, only for him to intimidate the banker so thoroughly that the man had ended up giving him more money than the treasure's actual value to get him away from his bank as soon as possible. Now, Sengoku didn't generally approve of any means of extortion, but, in his opinion, anyone willing to take advantage of a child deserved to be put in their place.

From there, Sengoku tracked the boy through five more islands. He didn't get a name, he was sure by now that the boy hadn't given it to anyone —a smart move, having in account Doflamingo was most likely looking for him— but he had figured out the few patterns the boy followed. And he was _smart_. Most people, when they tried to hide, tended to go to the shadier areas of a town, places the authorities didn't pay much attention to and where people didn't care about others. Those were the same areas where Doflamingo had the most contacts, and also the ones the boy avoided. He stuck to the richer neighborhoods in any town where he stayed, and he didn't stand out much. The hat was the main reason Sengoku had been able to find people who remembered him, and all the accounts were similar: a nice, polite and well behaved boy. It made sense that the boy could blend in well in these areas, given the fact that Flevance had been a very rich country, where children were brought up to behave in that manner, but, after three years with the Donquixote Pirates, Sengoku had to wonder how much of that behavior was a mere act.

Finally, after such a long search —it had been kind of invigorating, a change from his mostly desk-bound job of these days— Sengoku had finally reached an island where a fisherman had brought the boy mere two days ago, and he was reasonably sure that he would find him here. He had been wandering the nicest area of the port town for half of the morning when he caught sight of the white, black-spotted hat he had described so often these past weeks inside of an ice-cream shop. Given the fact that it was summer now, that hat stood out even more than it would have in winter.

Sengoku, dressed in his Hawaiian shirt and brown shorts, —he _was_ going incognito, and nobody would associate an attire like this with the marines' fleet admiral— entered the shop, bought himself an ice cream and walked to the boy's table, sitting on the empty chair in front of him.

The boy, back straight and spoon halfway to his mouth, had stiffened when Sengoku had approached, and was now staring at him, eyes open wide in recognition.

So much for going incognito.

At least this would save them some explanations.

"You're Fleet Admiral Sengoku," the boy stated unnecessarily.

"And you're the boy with the amber lead syndrome."

The boy stiffened even further, and looked around furtively to see if anyone had heard Sengoku's words. Nobody was paying attention to them, though, Sengoku would never have voiced such sensitive information if someone had been.

"Do you have a name? I don't like to keep calling you boy."

After a month of chasing him around, finally seeing him in person and the information he had guessed about the events at Minion island and his connection with Rosinante, it was too late for caring as little as possible about him.

"Law," he answered, and Sengoku was surprised at the lack of hesitation. "You're here about Cora-san, aren't you?"

Sengoku knew that Cora-san was how the kids from the Donquixote Family had called Rosinante.

"I'd like to know what happened, yes." Law lowered his head, and Sengoku easily identified the emotion behind the gesture: guilt. "Did he tell you anything about me?" He was changing the subject intentionally, but he was honestly curious. He hadn't expected Rosinante to have opened up about it, not when Law had a genuine reason to be angry if he learned he was a marine.

"No," Law said, looking up at him. "I guessed. He didn't want me to know. He thought I'd hate him," he finished with a sad little smile.

Sengoku looked down at Law's forgotten and half-melted ice cream.

"Why don't we finish these and go somewhere more private to talk?" he suggested.

Law shrugged, but he ate the spoonful he had been about to eat when Sengoku had arrived.

* * *

Closing the door of his hotel room, Sengoku turned to see that Law had seated himself on the bed. Sengoku almost made a sarcastic comment about him making himself comfortable —it was his default reaction whenever Garp invaded his office— but he held the comment back in time. That probably wouldn't be the best of ideas given their circumstances.

"What do you want to know?" Law asked, going straight to the point.

Sengoku raised his eyebrows. He was sure that most kids would be very nervous in this situation, but it was clear that Law wasn't.

"Those six months Rosinante took off," Sengoku started, going to sit on one of the room's chairs, "were you with him?"

Law nodded.

"He said he wanted to heal my sickness. We went to hospital after hospital." Sengoku didn't have to ask how that had gone, the look on Law's face was more than enough of an answer. He didn't envy him the experience.

He moved on to the next question. Not that it would be easier, more like the opposite, but it would be better for both of them to have this conversation over with as soon as possible.

"He had already decided to go after the Ope Ope no Mi when he called him." It wasn't a question, but Law nodded all the same. It was a bitter pill to swallow, to have confirmation that Rosinante had lied to him after all. "What happened?"

This time, Law didn't look down, but instead looked him in the eyes. His fists clenched on the sheets.

"He told me to wait for him as he went to steal the fruit using his powers, but he was caught after he had it and had to fight his way out. He was very hurt when he came back." Law flexed the fingers of his left hand, and a small blue orb that encompassed his forearm appeared. "I tried to heal him, but I didn't know how to use this power yet. He gave me a written message, said it was for the marines, that it could save a country called Dressrosa." The orb disappeared.

Sengoku leaned forward.

"What happened to the message?" he asked. If Law still had it —because the message hadn't reached Sengoku, which meant he hadn't found a marine— maybe they could stop Doflamingo after all.

Law shook his head.

"I found a marine." And, somehow, that answer sounded horrible. "But he wasn't a marine, not really. He was a spy for Doflamingo. He beat us up and destroyed the message. Then he called Doflamingo."

Sengoku's blood had turned to ice. _A spy?_

"Do you know who that spy was?" he asked. He didn't hold much hope for the answer, but the thought that Doflamingo had a spy in the marines…

"The first Corazon, Vergo."

It was as if the ground had vanished from under his feet. If he hadn't been sitting, he would have fallen to his knees. Vergo… _He had assigned Vergo to that mission._

"Do you know him?" Law, correctly reading his reaction, asked. "What will you do?"

 _Kill him_ , was the first thought that crossed Sengoku's mind, before his more strategist side started to work. If he killed Vergo or blew his cover, then Doflamingo would plant someone else, someone they might not be able to discover the same way they hadn't discovered Vergo. If they kept Vergo around, however, they might be able to have some control over the information Doflamingo had access to…

"I'll have to think about it."

Surprisingly, instead of getting angry or throwing a fit demanding that Sengoku did something about Vergo immediately, Law just nodded, as if he understood the importance of strategy. Maybe he did.

"Doflamingo came after Vergo called him?" Sengoku asked, steering the conversation back to the story.

"Yes, but we got away while Vergo was on the Den Den Mushi. But Doflamingo used this technique that covered the whole island, so we couldn't escape. Cora-san… he said he had a plan." Law swallowed, and Sengoku saw the careful clam he had maintained up until now starting to crumble. "He put me in a treasure chest and used his powers so nobody would hear me."

 _Not even haki. Clever,_ Sengoku thought somberly. He knew very well the extent of the Nagi Nagi no Mi's power.

"He said Doflamingo wouldn't kill him because they were brothers," Law continued, talking faster now, "but he knew it was a lie. Why did he lie?" Law asked, looking down at his lap.

Sengoku looked at him, not sure about what to say or do. When he had started this trip, he had had very conflicting emotions about the boy Rosinante had saved, given the fact that everything he had known about him was he suffered from Amber Lead Syndrome and greatly resembled Doflamingo as a child. But, looking at him now, Sengoku not only could see that whatever resemblance —judging by what Rosinante had told him about his brother as a child— was gone, it was also obvious how much Law loved Rosinante and how affected he was by his death.

Before he could come up with an answer, Law spoke again.

"I wonder if D had anything to do with him saving me."

"D?" Sengoku asked, barely managing to keep his reaction under control after all the emotion he had experienced already. _Where has he heard that name?_

"It's in my name. Cora-san showed me that he could speak when he heard me say it."

 _He's one of them? No wonder…_

"Does Doflamingo know?"

Law shook his head again.

"Cora-san told me it would be very dangerous for me if he knew."

"Good," Sengoku said. _Probably the only good thing in this boy's life right now_ , he added to himself, and was surprised at the bitterness of his own thoughts. "And don't be stupid, it had nothing to do."

"What?" Law looked up at him again.

"The D. Rosinante didn't know anything about it, so don't go thinking there was some reason why he saved you other than because he loved you."

Law lowered his head again and bit into his lower lip. Sengoku pretended he hadn't noticed the tears gathering in his eyes. He wasn't so far from crying himself.

After a few minutes of silence, once Law had composed himself again, Sengoku spoke.

"What will you do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your plans. I'd offer you to come with me, but I have a feeling you'd refuse." And Sengoku couldn't hold it against him. If he were to make a list of people with legitimate reason to truly despise the World Government, he was sure Law's name would be one of the first there.

Law scoffed.

"I'd never live at a marine base."

"I know. That's why I'm asking."

"I'm going to kill Doflamingo," Law stated, looking him right in the eyes again as he did. Sengoku could see he was deadly serious.

"What…?"

"Not now. I know I'm not strong enough, and I won't be for a long time, but I'll train and become stronger and stronger, until I can beat him. I don't care how long it takes."

"You don't have to do that," Sengoku said when he had gathered his thoughts. "Rosinante would never ask or expect it from you."

"I know, but I'll do it anyway. To stop Doflamingo is what he wanted."

Sengoku opened his mouth to argue, but closed it without saying a word.

 _D, remember? Don't waste your breath._

Sighing, he stood up and rummaged through his pockets until he found what he wanted. He hadn't been sure of what he would do with this when he had decided to bring it along, it had been a spur of the moment decision, but now it seemed pretty obvious what he should do with it.

"Keep in touch, at least," he said, offering Law the Den Den Mushi.

Law stared at it.

"That was Cora-san's."

"Yes. I kept his things." Not that there had been much to be kept, only what Rosinante had been carrying when he died, but Sengoku hadn't been able to throw anything away, not even the damn black coat that resembled Doflamingo's so much.

Law looked up at him, a defiant expression on his face.

"And why would I want to keep in touch with you?"

"Because Rosinante gave his life to save you. I'd like to know his sacrifice wasn't for nothing."

Sengoku knew he had him even before Law raised his hand reluctantly to take the Den Den Mushi.

He suspected he would have a lot of headaches from now on.


	2. Baby Steps: Sengoku

Here is the second part of the story. This one isn't all that great, just one of those things that have to be explained in a story, but well.

Chronology: starts two weeks after their first meeting, and there will be a second chapter with Law's side of things at around this time period.

 **Note:** I'M A FUCKING IDIOT! For some reason I made this into an entirely different story. Sorry, sorry, sorry!

* * *

 **Baby Steps: Sengoku**

There was an entire building of Marineford devoted to keeping copies of all official documents the World Government had on the inhabitants of the countries that were part of it. These documents were also kept at Mariejois, but their presence here was mostly for the purpose of identifying criminals quicker when they appeared.

Usually, a person's folder was thin and went unnoticed unless a new document had to be added. These folders contained standard documents —birth certificate, marriage certificate if existing, genealogy...- and were destroyed a century after the person's certified death. Once, years ago, they had been destroyed upon certified death, but after a few mistakes and events suspiciously like resurrections, that had changed. Usually, these documents were organized by ocean and country, but there were exceptions. Criminals were classified according to the organization or crew they belonged to, and those files tended to be far thicker than those of average citizens. Notorious in this category were the Whitebeard Pirates, that had a room assigned exclusively for them and their allies, and it threatened to fill completely soon. The other Yonko weren't far behind, and Sengoku refused to think of the now mostly unattended room that contained information on the Roger Pirates.

Aside from people, they kept data from official institutions, such as hospitals or schools, that sometimes was useful to learn more about an individual.

Lastly, its existence even unknown to most, was the room on the farthest end from the stairs in the basement. There was information about islands, away from their respective seas and their neighboring countries. Data that was supposed to disappear from people's minds long before it could be destroyed. Kuzan had once referred to this place as the Government's Hall of Shame. While he hadn't shown any outward signs, Sengoku privately agreed with this definition.

The last substantial addition to this room had been made a little over three years and a half ago, and now Sengoku was here in search of a file that didn't belong in this place, but that he wouldn't remove in the very off-hand case someone noticed.

When he entered, he tried to ignore the first three shelves, but his eyes treacherously wandered to the noticeably thickest file in the third top shelf.

Jaguar D. Saul.

As much as he had tried to, Sengoku had never quite managed to feel comfortable labeling Saul a 'traitor', not as much as others did, because he understood that what had driven Saul's actions had been a strong sense of justice, much similar to someone else's.

He shook his head and moved on.

At the far end of the room, he found what he had been looking for. Five innocuous tall shelves labeled at the top with the same word.

Flevance.

Thousands of lives reduced to a few pieces of paper, no one left to remember them as anything but a number, a note at the bottom of the history books. _Almost_ no one.

The personal archives were classified by year of birth, and then each year was ordered alphabetically. Because most folders were so thin, each letter was inside a larger one to facilitate locating a name, and the first thing one found upon opening each of the letter folders was a list with all the names contained inside.

Sengoku didn't know Law's surname, which was a problem because the classification was made through surnames, and he didn't know Law's exact age either. Sengoku guessed Law was either twelve or thirteen, or perhaps a very scrawny fourteen years old. It wasn't so illogical to think that Law's growth might have been stumped a little because his body had been fighting the Amber Lead Syndrome, but to be on the safe side Sengoku started looking through the kids that would have been twelve today.

Each name that he read was a nail in the armor he had long since built to be able to live with himself and the horror the mere existence of this room represented.

Three folders in, he sat on the ground and resolved to stay here until he found what he was looking for. He didn't put it past himself to derail a second visit using work as an excuse. He may be only reading, but he already felt more tired than the time he and Garp had fought Shiki over twelve years ago.

Two hours and countless names later, he stopped halfway down the T list of would-have-been thirteen years old.

Trafalgar Law.

No D, curious. Had they hidden it? If it was truly him, that had been a smart choice. He searched for the folder and opened it.

The picture that greeted him felt like a punch to the stomach. It was unmistakably Law —ten, his brain provided, he had been _ten years old_ when his world was destroyed— younger and looking at the camera with a serious expression.

That seriousness had nothing to do with what Sengoku had seen in him two weeks ago. It was the face of a little kid trying to appear more mature and older than he really was. His eyes were happy, they were barely recognizable.

The features were the same, the _hat_ was the same, but Sengoku knew the boy he was looking at was an entirely different person from the one he had met.

 _How did you survive?_ Sengoku wondered. _How did you get out?_

He wasn't sure he would ever ask.

Looking at that picture was enough for Sengoku to know that, despite how much he might have wanted to, Law hadn't been like Doflamingo. It was a relief, Sengoku thought. He had already seen it with his own eyes, but any further proof of that fact was more than welcome. He didn't think he could take it, if Rosinante had died to protect someone that would later become just like Doflamingo.

Taking a deep breath —he had come this far, he wasn't going to stop now— he looked down at the information.

Law had been born on October 6th, that meant there were around two months left before his birthday. His fourteenth birthday. Law really _was_ a little scrawny for his age. And short.

There were his parents' names, as well as their dates of birth. Sengoku would look them up, too. He wanted to see what he could learn about them. And there, on the sibling box, was a name.

Lamie.

A little sister.

Sengoku closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had been prepared for the parents, it was a given they had died, and most likely from either the sickness or the attack, but he hadn't really stopped to think about siblings.

His mind went back, though it really had nothing in common with this situation, to when he first met Rosinante, who had been crying desperately because his brother had shot his father. Even then, Rosinante still loved his brother. He had, until the very end, no matter how much he saw the monster he was. If a child could care so much for a sibling that had betrayed them so grievously, how much worse would it be if that sibling _hadn't_?

Did Law carry her death in his conscience like he did Rosinante's? Yes, of course he did. Sengoku knew enough about siblings to be able to answer that question.

Now that he had names and dates, finding the three files was easy. The date of death was the same for all three of them, a date Sengoku knew he would never forget after this. He wondered if they had shown visible signs of the sickness by then, or if, like Law, they had had years left to live. How had they died? Had the parents died first? Or had they known their daughter had died? Had Law witnessed any of it?

Sengoku shook his head and leaned back against the shelf. He looked up at the ceiling.

"Of all the children…" he said, talking to someone who wasn't there, "you had to go and grow to love the most complicated one, didn't you?"

He wasn't complaining, not really. Law might be damaged —a miracle he wasn't broken, really— he might be, of everybody who ever joined the Donquixote Family, the person that would be considered most potentially dangerous by the Gorosei if they knew who he was, but he was also someone Rosinante would have wanted to help. And he was someone Rosinante had grown to love. And in the couple of days they had spent together and the few conversations they had had, Sengoku had decided he kind of liked Law. Even if he was a little shit most of the time.

He looked back at the files again, and something caught his attention. Doctors, Law's parents had been doctors. And not just any doctors, according to the information here, they had directed a hospital. Had they been looking for a cure when Flevance was attacked? Did they know, if there was an afterlife —Sengoku hoped there was, he didn't like the alternative of Rosinante just ceasing to exist entirely— that their son had found one?

He looked at the pictures. Law bore a resemblance to his father, though Sengoku could already tell he wouldn't have such a relaxed expression as an adult, while sister and mother were very similar. Sengoku wondered how well Law remembered them. He himself had already started to forget details about Rosinante, as much as he tried not to: his voice was fading, as were some of his mannerisms, as unique as he had thought them at the moment. He wondered if, over three years later, Law had also forgotten details about his family, things he had tried to cling to.

Sengoku couldn't remove Law's file from this room, he had no doubt that, targeting Doflamingo as he was and with his refusal to join the government, Law would sooner or later become a wanted man —Sengoku hoped Garp _never_ caught wind of this, or he wouldn't live it down— and there existed the small possibility that a reasonably smart person, once it became apparent there was no information on Law in any of the still existing countries' archives, thought he might have survived from a destroyed one, but he thought there would be no problem if he borrowed a few pictures, just for a couple of days at most.

* * *

I got the idea for that building from the fact that the marines identified Buggy so quickly after Impel Down. To do that, and get all the data they did, they must have had easy access to a lot of information.


	3. Baby Steps: Law

Here is Law's side of things at around the same time as the previous chapter. There isn't much plot development in this chapter, but I wanted to show what Law has been doing.

* * *

 **Baby Steps: Law**

Law would like to say that he hadn't had any intention of keeping his promise when he had agreed to contact Sengoku again, but he didn't like to lie to himself. He had known he would stay in touch with him, for Cora-san, because even hearing only two conversations between them it had been _so obvious_ that they had cared for one another, because he had seen Sengoku's face when they had talked about Cora-san.

That didn't mean, of course, that Law called regularly or anything, he simply answered when Sengoku did. Sengoku usually asked about his whereabouts and what he was doing, and Law kept to mostly truths. He simply omitted certain facts. He said at which island he was at the moment, and in which empty house he was squatting (it was ridiculously easy to learn when a family would be away in vacation, and they always left something inside the house that hinted at or outright stated the return date), he commented on how his self-taught medical studies were going, but omitted mentions of the subjects he sometimes tried a technique on —he was careful, and left the trials for right before moving on to the next island, in case something drew attention to them— and he also asked Sengoku about fighting techniques and training. Sengoku was _strong_ , it would be stupid not to take advantage of that fact.

He also asked about how Sengoku was doing, mostly because he thought he could glean some useful information about the marines. He knew Sengoku wasn't fooled, but answered nonetheless —never with anything confidential, of course. So far, Law knew a few things: Monkey D. Garp, the revered hero of the marines, was a pain in the ass (Sengoku's words), had a total disregard for material property and most rules, and if ever, for any unfortunate circumstance, Law ran into him, he should try to appear as weak and uninteresting as possible and, if that didn't work, _run_ ; Tsuru, the marine who pursued the Donquixote Pirates, was Marineford's second in command despite being only a vice admiral; there was something, Law still didn't know what it was, that had Sengoku extremely stressed out. Judging by a few comments, and one fight that had started when Garp had burst into Sengoku's office while he was talking to Law, Garp was somehow related to this problem. There had been a threat of executing Garp that had made Law chuckle despite his best efforts, and when Garp had asked who was on the line Sengoku had kicked him out of the office. Through the window, judging by the sound of glass breaking.

Law had also learned that Sengoku wasn't as serious as he seemed at first glance.

Law could see some resemblance between Cora-san and Sengoku through these conversations, and that made all of this a little easier.

* * *

In case anyone is curious, Sengoku is so pissed at Garp because it was at around this time that the Revolutionary Army started to act, at least according to what we know so far in canon. Remember this is between six months and a year before the Gray Terminal incident.


	4. The Visit: Necessities

Christmas is here and so are some updates. Originally I was going to post tomorrow, but given how things have started to go south already, I think I'll need some review-shaped cheering up by the time dinner is over. So I decided to post earlier.

Here is part three. This one is also in chronological order (I wanted to get the tricky beginning sorted before moving on to other things) and will be 3-4 chapters long. The exact length depends on how long the last chapter ends up being.

* * *

 **The Visit: Necessities**

Law grinned, pocketing his new acquisitions without faltering on his steps as he did. He had learned early on that, while the dome created by his devil fruit powers —he had named it 'room'— was easy to see during the day, the same didn't happen at night. The 'room' had a blue tinge to it, but it did not shine in any way. The relatively poor lighting of the night, even in decently illuminated areas, ensured that no one noticed its presence.

He was suddenly grabbed by his backpack and pulled into an alleyway, a hand covering his mouth at the same time. Instead of thrashing uselessly, Law aimed a kick as strong as he could at his assailant's chest, while he took hold of two fingers of the hand covering his mouth fully intent on breaking them. The kick hit, but it had no effect, and he wasn't any more successful on bending the fingers.

Law was turned around and came face to face with an utterly unimpressed Sengoku.

"Pick-pocketing, really?"

Law bit Sengoku's hand, aware that it would have no effect, but it had the desired effect and Sengoku removed it and put him down.

Law crossed his arms defensively.

"I need money."

"Already?" Sengoku asked, a little surprised, and Law shrugged. He still had had some money left from the treasure he had kept from Minion, plus the money Sengoku had sent him after he had returned to Marineford. Law's original estimation had been that it would last him easily until December, maybe even January, and it _would_ have if a certain thing hadn't come up.

"I had to buy clothes," he explained, gesturing at himself as he did.

Sengoku scanned him critically.

"You had a growth spurt, didn't you?"

Law nodded. Now that his body was no longer fighting the Amber Lead Syndrome, he had resumed processes that had stopped long ago. Law would never be as tall as he would have been if he hadn't been sick, but he still hoped to reach a decent height.

"Those look expensive," Sengoku noted, referring to Law's clothes.

Law, arms still crossed, glared defiantly up at him.

"If I want to fit in, I have to dress like them." He didn't have much, though. Not only would he most likely have outgrown these clothes by this time next year, but he needed to be able to travel light. His possessions were limited to the backpack he always carried with himself and a second bag, filled with some more changes of clothes and the things he could do without if he had to disappear.

Sengoku accepted his answer with a nod and brought out his wallet. He handed Law a few bills. Large ones, mostly, he noticed when he took them; one hundred and twenty thousand belis.

"If you need money, just ask. Don't go around committing more crimes than necessary."

Law nodded with a shrug, and decided not to comment on the fact that Sengoku's choice of words implied hr knew Law was —or maybe he just thought would in the future— committing some other crimes.

"Have you eaten?" Sengoku asked after a short silence.

"Not yet."

"Do you know of any good places?" Sengoku gestured to the entry of the alley, and they moved out.

Law absentmindedly thought it was strange that no one had noticed what, for all intents and purposes, had looked like the kidnapping of a kid. Then again, Sengoku hadn't reached his position for no reason.

"A few," Law answered. "Meat or seafood?"

"Seafood," Sengoku answered promptly and, when Law looked at him questioningly, explained: "at Marineford it's almost always meat when you eat with Garp."


	5. The Visit: Dinner

Happy New Year, guys! :D

I'm posting some updates for the occasion :) Now, I know I have some reviews left to answer, but I haven't had much time to be online these past few days (the only reason I'm posting anything is because I've had my holiday updates ready for over a week). My mom's been at the hospital for the last four days and, while she's back home for tonight (she's asleep now), she has to go back to get an urgent surgery on Sunday. So I haven't been around, and probably won't be for a while. Depends on how things turn out :/

* * *

 **The Visit: Dinner**

Sengoku observed Law as they ate. He wasn't too obvious about it, he didn't want to trigger any more awkwardness than what was already present in the mostly silent way they ate dinner, but he wanted to get to know him.

One detail he hadn't noticed the first time, as overwhelmed and distracted as he had been by everything he had learned, were Law's eating habits. Law's mostly _normal_ eating habits. After years of exposure to Garp and his knowledge of Roger, Sengoku would have expected Law, as a D, to be as much of a black hole as them. He wasn't. Law was eating at a calm pace, with relatively good manners that didn't have people around them turning their heads in horrified astonishment or losing their appetites, and a reasonable amount of food.

However, he did seem to have a quirk, Sengoku noticed. Law hadn't touched the bread that had been brought along with their order.

"You don't like bread?" Sengoku asked, one of his eyebrows going up. _Curious._

"No," Law answered with a small grimace, giving the bread a dark look as if it had offended him personally.

Sengoku had to smile at the childish gesture. It was the first time he saw Law behaving in a way fit for his age.

"Any other eating habit you share with Rosinante?" Sengoku asked, curious, because what were the chances for Rosinante to have found a kid who shared his dislike for bread?

Law grimaced again.

"No. He liked _umeboshi_." He said it with such disgust that Sengoku couldn't help but laugh.

Law glared at him, but he must have decided it wasn't worth yelling at him or argue, because he changed the topic.

"So," he started casually. Too casually, "what are you doing here?"

"I need a reason to be here?"

The look Law directed at him was impressive. Usually, it was Sengoku who looked at people like they were idiots for something they had said, it was uncommon to have that look aimed at him. Law's version of it was one of the best he had seen, and Sengoku briefly wondered how many of these same looks had been aimed at Rosinante.

Sengoku looked pointedly around.

"Later."

"Is it bad?" Law asked seriously, lowering his fork back onto his plate.

Sengoku shook his head.

"No. Just… private." He didn't add that he didn't know how Law would react to it, which was the main reason he wanted to wait.

Law nodded.

"What will you do about Vergo?"

Sengoku sighed. Couldn't he ask about something less delicate? At least, about this, he had an idea of Law's possible reaction, so he decided to answer.

"I'll keep an eye on him. If I remove him, Doflamingo will simply send someone else, and there isn't any proof that he _is_ a spy." He added this last bit more carefully, though he didn't mention his third reason: that Doflamingo had the Tenryuubito by the balls —according to the information Rosinante had given him— and Sengoku wouldn't put it past them to cover Vergo if Doflamingo threatened them.

Law frowned, but he nodded reluctantly.

"You only have my word to prove it."

That was another thing. Law was a kid, and he had been a pirate. While most people would excuse his stint as a pirate due to the circumstances in which he had joined the Donquixote Pirates, his credibility would be even more questioned than simply due to his age.

"I'm thinking about setting Garp on him," Sengoku confessed in an attempt to lighten the mood and because he had considered the possibility.

That caught Law's attention, and an interested look crossed his eyes.

"How?"

"Vergo is a very promising fighter. If I tell Garp, he will want to test him."

Law didn't laugh, but a smirk crossed his face. A slightly creepy smirk, Sengoku noticed, and he wouldn't be surprised if that expression scared a lot of people in the future.

"If you do, record it. I want to see."


	6. The Visit: Memories

Last chapter of this part :)

* * *

 **The Visit: Memories**

Law dropped his two bags —his only possessions aside from what he had on his person, Sengoku noted with some bitterness at the thought that Law just _couldn't_ own more things, like a normal kid his age— on the second bed of the room Sengoku had rented for the duration of his stay.

"You gonna tell me what are you doing here?" Law asked brusquely, rudely, when he turned around with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Today is your birthday, isn't it?"

Law looked surprised, blinking up at Sengoku as if that was the last thing he had expected, and Sengoku had the nagging feeling that Law may have forgotten the date. Before Law could react, and probably grow defensive, Sengoku took out the envelope he had been carrying in his coat pocket since he left Marineford and offered it to Law.

Law raised his eyebrows, the gesture barely noticeable below his hat.

"You bought me a birthday present?" he asked skeptically.

"No."

"Then?"

"Just open it and see for yourself."

Law shrugged and reached out, taking the envelope from Sengoku's hand and opening it with no hesitation.

Law froze when he pulled out its contents.

Sengoku didn't comment when Law's lower lip wobbled, nor when his hands trembled as he passed from one picture to the next. Law's eyes grew wet, and Sengoku knew for sure then that Law hadn't seen his family's faces since Flevance.

It wasn't much, just copies of the official pictures from the files: his father serious but not grim, his mother smiling softly and his sister grinning widely. They were all the same everything that was left of Law's family, because Flevance had been burned to the ground and all the bodies disposed of in that same manner.

Law moved to the bed, walking blindly with his eyes glued to the pictures, and sat heavily on the mattress. Sengoku left a pack of tissues next to him and went to unpack the suitcase he had dropped off in the room earlier that afternoon.

He didn't comment on the muted sniffles and sobs.

Finally, when Sengoku was done placing his few clothes in the closet, he turned to see Law had put the pictures to one side and was wiping his eyes on a sodden tissue.

"I didn't put them there," Sengoku started, unsure of how this conversation would go, "but I also have a couple pictures of Rosinante."

Law's head snapped up.

"Show me," he demanded, though he didn't sound nearly as brusque as he had earlier.

Sengoku walked to Law's bed and sat by his side, on the opposite side to the pictures.

He had brought two more, and took them out now. He didn't like the first one much, because there were too many bitter memories and feelings associated with it, but that was how Law remembered Rosinante, and so Sengoku had brought it.

He handed it to Law.

"We took that one after he had completed his disguise. He spent a long time coming up with it."

In the picture, Rosinante stood in the middle of an empty warehouse they had turned into a provisional base while he prepared to return to Doflamingo's side, because being anywhere near a marine base might have endangered his cover as a pirate. Rosinante stood with his arms spread wide, the black feathered coat thrown over his shoulders, red hood on and the recently healed tattoos a stark contrast against the skin of his face.

"He always set that stupid coat on fire," Law commented with a tiny, sad smile on his lips, and Sengoku had to snort.

"I'm not surprised. He used to set his uniform on fire, too."

Law looked up at him.

"He did? Did he have a coat, too?"

"No," Sengoku answered, and smiled softly at the memories the topic brought. "The winter uniform could pass, but nobody understood how he could set on fire the regular, sleeveless uniform too."

Law gave him a surprised, slightly wide eyed look. Then his lips pulled up, and much to Sengoku's surprise he chuckled. It was short, barely a breath, but it rang with amusement and no trace of bitterness. It was a good sound, and it made Law appear his age.

"What's the other picture?" Law asked a moment later. He wasn't smiling anymore, but he wasn't frowning either, and Sengoku could tell Law was more relaxed than he had been all evening.

Sengoku handed the picture over silently. He had debated a lot on that one. He had wanted to bring a picture of Rosinante before the Donquixote Pirates, but deciding which one had been more difficult than expected. Sengoku had many pictures to choose from. He had discarded the ones where Rosinante appeared in his marine uniform because while Law knew and accepted that Rosinante had been a marine, Sengoku thought it would be best not to remind Law of it so openly.

It the picture, Rosinante grinned widely, sat precariously balanced on a railing that overlooked Marineford where he liked to sit despite the many accidents he had there, dressed in jeans and a ridiculous pink t-shirt with two teddy bears painted on it.

"He looked almost normal," Law commented, not really unkindly.

Sengoku nodded.


	7. Friends

I've been working on this part ever since I started the story, but I wanted to get until Law's first birthday posted before I published it. I'm not quite satisfied with the result, but I don't think I can improve it, so here it is.

Chronology: Three years after Minion. Law is 16.

* * *

 **Friends**

Tsuru hadn't reached her position in the marines for no reason. She was observant, and she knew how to connect facts. What was more important in this case, though, was that she knew her friends well.

Sengoku had been acting strangely for a while now. Even Garp had noticed. Of course, Garp was no idiot, despite what his usual behavior may suggest, and he was far more perceptive than people gave him credit for. The fact that he was sitting before her desk right now just proved it.

"Any theories?" he asked.

Tsuru crossed her hands on the table.

"Maybe. I think we should talk to him. He's scheduled to return next week."

* * *

Officers and soldiers alike moved out of their way as Garp and Tsuru passed them, and Tsuru noticed many people leaving the area, as if to put more distance between Sengoku's office and themselves. She couldn't blame them, it wasn't uncommon for Garp's visits to Sengoku's office to end in a fight. She didn't believe that would be the case this time, but she didn't bother to say it. They could use the privacy.

Sengoku raised his head when they entered his office, and Garp slammed the door shut behind them with enough force to make it rattle. He wasn't angry or anything, but Garp was unable to close a door like a normal person.

"You've been hiding something from us," Garp said in a singsong voice that didn't fit a marine of his rank nor a grown man his age at all. Tsuru was too used to it to be unnerved anymore.

Sengoku raised an unimpressed eyebrow, but Tsuru had known him for too long to be fooled. She hadn't missed the brief look that crossed Sengoku's eyes. It was all the confirmation Garp's words needed.

"What are you talking about?" Sengoku asked, the right level of exasperation in his voice.

Tsuru just gave him a steady look, Garp laughed and Sengoku, after a moment, sighed. Sengoku knew far too well that he wouldn't be able to brush them off if they had seen fit to team up on him, and they all knew it. While Garp may be the sort of man to act on a hunch, if Tsuru was here it was because she had far more than a vague suspicion.

"What gave it away?"

"You've been spending all your vacation days," Tsuru explained and, at Sengoku's skeptical look, elaborated. "You hadn't done that since Rosinante joined the marines."

Sengoku sighed again, stood up and moved to the couches. Garp plopped down on one of them and Tsuru sat next to him.

"Tea?" Sengoku offered instead of sitting. He passed the couches and approached the counter where he kept snacks and drinks.

They both nodded.

Sengoku threw a bag of cookies at Garp before he started to prepare the kettle.

"I guess you have a theory?" he asked, looking at Tsuru.

"More or less," she answered, because, while she _did_ have an idea, she hadn't pieced things together as much as she would have liked.

Sengoku put the kettle to boil and turned around, leaning against the counter in a familiar gesture that signaled she should explain. Tsuru was tempted to remind him this wasn't related to work and he shouldn't act as his superior, but she didn't.

"After you took that month off three years ago," she started instead, "you went to the archives. If it had been something related to work, you would have sent someone else to do it, so it had to be personal. I thought you had decided to find the boy with the Amber Lead Syndrome, to ask for some answers, but..."

"But I never showed up with a kid and you started to doubt," Sengoku finished for her, and she nodded. Even if the boy hated the government, he was still a kid alone in the world, and not many kids would choose to live like that over a stable place to live and the safety it provided. Because Tsuru knew Sengoku wasn't so heartless as to abandon the kid to his own luck if he had managed to find him.

"Until now. This is the third year you have been away for the start of October. I'm starting to doubt it's a coincidence."

"No, it's not. I did find him."

Garp grinned at Tsuru. When they had talked about this, he had said that maybe the kid had chosen to live on his own, using his own childhood as an example that it could happen. Tsuru had pointed out that not many children were as crazy as Garp. Maybe she should reconsider about this one.

"Then?" she asked.

"Law, that's his name, would never agree to come here," Sengoku said, shaking his head fondly. "He really hates the government, and I can't blame him for it."

"And he agreed to see you despite that?" Tsuru asked skeptically. If this Law hated the government so much she couldn't come up with any reason why he would agree to meet with the leader of the marines so regularly.

A dark look, one they had become familiar with in the past three years, crossed Sengoku's face.

"He did." He sighed. "You two don't know everything that happened back then."

He didn't need to elaborate when 'back then' was.

Sengoku told them about the last six months of Rosinante's life, his quest to heal Law, the Ope Ope no Mi and how he had disobeyed Sengoku's final order to stay away from the transaction for the fruit, stolen it, fed it to Law and finally died at Doflamingo's hand.

By the time the story was over, the water had long since boiled, and Sengoku was sitting on the other couch halfway through his second cup of tea.

"So," Garp said in a slightly forced cheerful note, and Tsuru knew he was going to try to diffuse the dark mood even before he continued, "you're a grandfather now?"

Sengoku smiled.

"Yes. It wasn't part of the plan. The kid kind of grew on me," he said, before taking a sip of his tea.

Garp laughed.

"They do that, yes. How old is he?"

"He just turned sixteen."

"Early October is his birthday, then?" Tsuru asked, and Sengoku nodded.

"Why are there no pictures of him?" Garp asked, looking around the office.

Tsuru did, too, because it was obvious that Sengoku cared, but there really weren't any pictures around other than the one that showed Tsuru, Garp and Sengoku when they had been young: not of Law, and not of Rosinante. _Huh_ , Tsuru hadn't thought about that. It had made sense that Sengoku didn't have any pictures of Rosinante when Rosinante had been infiltrated in the Donquixote Pirates, but now?

Sengoku sighed, and the heaviness of the act told her there was something else coming they wouldn't like.

"If I tell you this, I want you to promise me you won't do anything stupid. This goes mostly for you, Garp," he added, giving Garp a hard look.

Garp nodded reluctantly. If Sengoku asked that, it meant whatever it was would make Garp want to get violent.

"There' a spy in the marines."

* * *

Naturally, once Sengoku told them about Vergo, he and Tsuru had to jump Garp to restrain him while Sengoku explained why beating the crap out of Vergo and throwing him into Impel Down would be a terrible idea.

It took a while, but finally Garp agreed to let Vergo -mostly- be. He did say he would spring 'training' sessions on him whenever Vergo showed up at headquarters, something Sengoku had nothing against.

"So, you got any pictures somewhere?" Garp asked, and Sengoku nodded.

He couldn't display them for fear of Vergo —or a possible undiscovered second spy, because one never knew with Doflamingo— connecting Law to him and using that information to track Law down, but Sengoku had some pictures. He kept them in the same drawer where Rosinante's were.

Garp had treated Sengoku to lots of pictures of Luffy over the years —he even had some of Dragon in his office, much to some people's dismay— and he seemed just as enthusiastic about seeing Law's.

"He looks like a little shit," Garp commented, laughing, when he saw one of the pictures from this last birthday. Law was fine with appearing on pictures, but he couldn't just smile at the camera like a normal person. In this particular picture he was smirking while he gave the camera the finger.

Law was growing really fond of that gesture.


	8. The Tenryuubito Incident

Okay, so today (It's already May 20th here) is my birthday, and thus I bring you some updates :D

This is one of the first scenes I thought of when I decided to expand on this universe. While it's not as good as I wanted it to be, I hope you still like it.

Chronology: Pre-timeskip Sabaody.

* * *

 **The Tenryuubito Incident**

One of these days Sengoku was going to murder Monkey D. Garp for his family's actions. And he meant _murder_ , not an execution under some feeble pretense of justice. Because, obviously, the marines didn't have their hands full enough with the preparations of the war that would take place at Portgas D. Ace's execution, now Monkey D. Luffy had gone and punched a Tenryuubito.

 _Fucking wonderful_. There wasn't a worse moment for them to have to relinquish an admiral to the whims of the Tenryuubito than right now.

Damn brat.

"According to reports, not only the Strawhat Pirates are on the scene. So are Eustass Kid and several of his crew, as well as Trafalgar Law and several of his crew."

Sengoku had the distinct impression that all the blood had frozen in his veins.

 _Law was at the auction house?_

Of course, Sengoku had known that Law had reached Sabaody a few days ago, he made a point of keeping tabs on him, but any sensible person would have got the hell out of the auction house the moment Strawhat Luffy had turned on the Tenryuubito. The thought had just crossed his mind when he realized he had called _Law_ a sensible person.

Of course Law had stayed to watch, the damn insane brat.

Sengoku barely paid any attention to the rest of the report, and then Kizaru announced he would go to Sabaody himself.

 _Get the fuck out of there, Law_ , Sengoku thought, and kept thinking it until he received news that the Heart Pirates had successfully escaped Sabaody.

He felt like a traitor for being so relieved.

* * *

The door to Sengoku's office burst open with all the noise and flare that always preceded one of Garp's entrances. At least he wasn't in the habit of destroying walls for dramatic effect at any government facilities, mainly because the money for repairs when he did it came from his paycheck.

Garp walked to one of Sengoku's couches with a huge grin on his face and plopped down on it.

"So, I hear our grandkids have met," he said after Sengoku made a point of not looking up at him.

"They were just at the same place at the same time, it doesn't mean they've met," Sengoku said, signing off on one of the many orders that had to be ready for the execution and looking up at Garp. He wouldn't get much work done until Garp was satisfied bugging him.

"Oh, come on! They beat the shit out of a marine squad together!" Garp insisted, far too cheerfully for a marine Vice Admiral.

The only reason Sengoku didn't admonish him for the comment was because he knew Garp's recent cheerfulness was overcompensation for his worry about Ace's situation; Sengoku still felt a little off-kilter from the Sabaody events, he never wanted to know firsthand how Garp was feeling right now.

Then Garp's grin grew impossibly wider, and Sengoku braced himself. That grin never meant anything good.

"Imagine they become allies? We'd be like pirate in-laws." Garp burst out laughing at his own comment.

As for Sengoku, he felt a distinct shiver running down his spine. Monkey D. Luffy was a nightmarish brat who had already drawn the ire of the Gorosei themselves even though he was just a rookie. Law was holding back, mostly unnoticed by the higher-ups despite his relatively high bounty for a rookie because he had refrained from particularly outrageous actions, but Sengoku knew better. Every one of Law's actions was a calculated step in his quest to take Doflamingo down, and the moment Law decided to put whatever insane plan he came up with to action, he would throw the world off its precariously maintained balance; because, for all that Doflamingo was a piece of shit Sengoku wanted to see dead, he was an important cog in the general workings of the world. Sengoku knew Law wouldn't care about the consequences as long as he had his revenge.

And they were both carriers of the D. An alliance between two of _those people_ …

"If that ever happens," Sengoku said finally, enunciating each world slowly, "I'm _retiring_."

Garp laughed for a full five minutes after that.


	9. The Call

Okay, here's a new part for this story :)

Chronology: Law is sixteen here, and this takes place a couple months after 'Friends'.

* * *

 **The Call**

Tsuru entered Sengoku's office in search of some papers she thought were there. With Sengoku away from Marineford it fell on Tsuru's shoulders to ensure things ran smoothly. Technically, it should be one of the admirals, and in fact the admirals would be in charge if there was a crisis, but for daily matters everybody deferred to Tsuru as Sengoku's second in command.

The den den mushi on the desk went off. Now, she could ignore it, that would be the polite thing to do, but it wouldn't be the first time someone hadn't been notified of Sengoku's scheduled absence and called in with a report.

She picked up the receiver, but didn't have a chance to speak.

"What the fuck is _wrong_ with you, you shitty old man?! Do you have any fucking idea what's going to happen while you sit there on your ass doing _nothing_?!" The voice was young, energetic, and _furious_.

Tsuru knew exactly who was on the other end of a line.

"Law, right?" she asked when there was a pause in the screaming (he was probably taking a deep breath to continue).

A long silence settled on the other end of the line.

"Who the hell are you? I didn't get the wrong number."

Tsuru chuckled despite herself. A rude, cocky little shit. Sengoku's descriptions and occasional tales appeared to fit well.

"I'm Tsuru. Sengoku isn't around right now."

"…Oh. Where is he?"

"On his way to Mariejois. Am I wrong in guessing you just read the newspaper?"

That set him off again.

"Damn right I did! What the fuck were you idiots _thinking_?! He _knows_ what's going to happen, _I told him_!"

Tsuru sighed and sat down on Sengoku's chair. She had a feeling this conversation would take a while.

"I know, and so does Sengoku, but there is nothing we could do to stop it."

"What do you mean?" Judging by how Law's voice sounded, he had spoken that question through gritted teeth.

"I mean that, while they ask us for our input most of the time, the decision to appoint the members of the Shichibukai is the Gorosei's. And there is nothing Sengoku or myself could have done when the Tenryuubito supported Doflamingo's appointment as a Shichibukai."

"Why would the Tenryuubito do that? They don't give a fuck about average humans," Law asked, crude and insightful.

"That is something you should ask Sengoku." Because, if Law didn't know, Tsuru didn't think it was her place to tell him, but if Sengoku didn't manage to dissuade him from his crazy quest —which seemed nigh impossible at this point— the least he could do was to give Law as much information as he had at his disposal.

There was another pause.

"How's the old man taking things?"

Tsuru smiled. It was nice to have proof that Sengoku really had someone who cared about him outside of this base.

"Poorly. I am going to kick him out of headquarters as soon as he comes back, so you should expect a visit."


	10. A Peaceful World

Originally, I was going to make this the Marineford chapter (because there will be one), but finally decided on something else :)

Chronology: A little over a month after the war at Marineford. Luffy pulled his stunt with Rayleigh and Jinbe at Marineford almost two weeks ago.

* * *

 **A Peaceful World**

Once they had left Amazon Lily, and according to their captain's orders to wait before entering the New World, the Heart Pirates had settled on a small island off the Sabaody Archipelago for a little while.

The place was peaceful for now, given that most of the new pirate crews that had sprung out of nowhere motivated by Whitebeard's final words were some time away from reaching Sabaody (those of them who would manage it at all). At first the crew had been a little disappointed about the break in their adventures, but seeing the constant news of pirate crews being obliterated in the New World and the fights everywhere over Whitebeard's old territories, they had to agree that waiting had been the smartest idea on their captain's part.

And it wasn't as if they were going to take things easy once they _did_ enter the New World.

"Oi! There's a boat out there!"

Bepo snapped out of his reverie and looked over at the coast, but he couldn't see more than a tiny dot far away.

"A boat? _Here_?" Penguin asked, incredulous. Not many boats would make it through this area of the sea, and Bepo doubted it was anyone's first choice when sailing the Grand Line.

"Yeah. And there's someo— OH, HOLY SHIT! CALL THE CAPTAIN!"

"What?" practically everybody asked at once.

Penguin stole the binoculars and paled.

"FUCK!"

Shachi stole them from Penguin, dropped them with a curse of his own, and ran off to call the captain, who was still in the room of the hotel they had to themselves (it turned out no civilians wanted to be anywhere near someone with the captain's reputation).

The binoculars started to pass around, and Bepo was truly worried by the time they reached him. He relaxed immediately when he looked through the lenses.

"Oh. It's fine guys, don't worry."

"It's _fine_?! THAT'S _SENGOKU_ OUT THERE!"

* * *

Penguin felt equal parts confused, eager, and worried by the time the tiny boat with _freaking Sengoku the Buddha_ made it to the port where they had been hanging out.

By the time they had spotted the boat it was realistically too late to flee the island safely (not even they could pull off two miraculous escapes from ridiculously overpowered marines in a little over a month) and they had been freaking over how to handle the situation. Then Bepo had relaxed for no reason, said it all was okay, and let them all continue to freak out when they refused to believe him.

To confuse things even further, when a frantic Shachi had dragged the captain here and pointed over at the already much larger dot, explaining the problem, the captain had _laughed_.

And now here they were, watching as the marine Fleet Admiral Sengoku threw the anchor over the edge of his boat before he calmly climbed out of it and turned to tie it in place.

Meanwhile, the captain sat on a crate, _smirking in amusement_ , and the crew was left to watch helplessly from a little distance into the port. They had wanted to stand behind him, in a sign of support if nothing else (because Penguin liked to be a realist from time to time, and that was a hopeless fight if he had ever faced one), but the captain had ordered them to stand back and don't get in the way.

And Bepo was still perfectly calm, as if nothing was wrong.

Finally, the boat was tied to Sengoku's satisfaction and he turned around to face the captain.

"You have a lot of nerve," said Sengoku sternly.

Penguin had to agree with him.

The captain's smirk widened.

"Why would that be?" Also, he was absolutely _insane_. Being sassy to someone like Sengoku was above even the captain's brand of smartassery. Well… Penguin would like to say it was. Again, being a realist and all that.

They were _so dead_ …

The captain summoned his _Room_ right before Sengoku attacked, and barely got himself out of the way of a punch that destroyed the crate and a large area of the ground around it.

The entire crew was startled.

Fuck the orders, they were intervening.

That was when Bepo jumped before them to stop them.

"It's fine, guys! That's the captain's grandfather!"

They all froze. A wall was punched into rubble.

"…Grand… father?"

* * *

"Are you out of your mind?!" Sengoku yelled, and the shockwave he summoned sent Law flying. He transported himself behind Sengoku and managed to land on his feet.

"I think I should be the one asking that," he said, finally having the time to unsheathe Kikoku. He was completely unsurprised when Sengoku dodged his attack. "What's this about?"

"What is…?" Sengoku stopped, fortunately. Law didn't lower his guard. " _Marineford._ What the _hell_ were you doing there?!"

"Oh, that. I like Strawhat, I thought it would be a pity if he died."

Sengoku faltered, blinked, and Law moved himself to a rooftop before the ground he had been standing on was blown to pieces.

"What sort of stupid reason is that?!"

Law was ready to dodge again (he was still far from being able to actually land a hit on Sengoku), but Sengoku sighed and dropped to sit on the rubble. Now, that was a good sign that he was done with the violent part of being angry. Or frustrated; Law guessed it was a mix of both in this case.

"Oi, Bepo!" he yelled. "Get the submarine ready to go!" There were no civilians around, but they had been this morning, so Law guessed they had panicked like his crew when they had spotted Sengoku and had fled the area.

Let them think the crew had somehow escaped capture.

Law walked up to Sengoku and sat next to him.

"If it makes you feel better, I hadn't planned to do it."

"It doesn't."

Law shrugged. He hadn't expected it would.

"Well, I can't say I'm sorry, because I'm not."

Sengoku sighed.

"Are you okay? You don't look like you received any serious injuries," Law asked, looking Sengoku up and down. He wasn't missing any body parts —fortunately— and if his little demonstration just now had proven anything it was that he had no trouble moving.

"Nothing a few bandages couldn't take care of. There are a lot of people worse off than me. And the island, of course. They did a number there."

Law hummed. At first, when the execution had been announced, he had half a mind to tell Sengoku how _stupid_ it was to go to war with Whitebeard (even adding the fact that Fire Fist had been Roger's son), but he knew something of that magnitude wasn't Sengoku's choice, so he had ultimately discarded the idea. The World Government wasn't exactly a reasonable organization mindful of the citizens' wellbeing.

"Speaking of Marineford, shouldn't you be supervising things there? It's been barely over a month, they can't be happy with their precious Fleet Admiral ditching work to disappear on them."

Sengoku threw him an unimpressed look that said he knew exactly how much Law cared about what the marines were or weren't happy about.

"I won't be Fleet Admiral for much longer anyway. I've resigned; the news will be out once the marines can present a stronger front."

Law blinked. He hadn't expected that. He hadn't expected either of those things: Sengoku resigning, or him voicing the truth about how the marines weren't as strong after the battle as they were trying to appear.

"Feeling too old for the job?" Law asked, aiming for easygoing.

Sengoku didn't sigh or scoff, he just closed his eyes.

"Maybe. Maybe it's time the younger generations take over now. Besides," he opened his eyes and fixed Law with a hard stare, "I have a feeling you won't go back to playing the average super rookie now that you've pulled that stunt. It might be good for my health to take things easier."

Law smirked. There was a notebook in his cabin that listed every single pirate of any notoriety in the New World, following their steps and known whereabouts and hideouts. Many names had been scratched off the list in the past few weeks, but many more remained.

"Just don't make a habit of dropping by every time you don't like something."

Sengoku groaned and covered his eyes with a hand.

"I don't want to know."

Law chuckled.

* * *

It was about time I showed a little more interaction between these two, wasn't it? Law said Bepo had been with him for 10 years, that means 8 here, so of course he knows Sengoku and his relationship with Law.


	11. The Shichibukai: Revelations

I know it's been a long time since I last updated this story. I do have some (kinda) good reasons for it. First, after the fiasco that was working on Paper Monsters, I just needed to stay away from writing anything Law-related for a while. Then, when Oda revealed the story of how Law met Bepo, Shachi and Penguin in a SBS, I wanted to add it into the 'verse, but I had to find a way to explain why Bepo is the only one who knew Sengoku was Law's grandfather. I got something half-decent thought out. It might not even appear, but that's me plotting.

So here I am now, with a new update. This part will have several chapters, I'm still not sure how many because I haven't written them yet (though I have ideas), but it's been so long I decided to upload the first one as soon as I wrote it.

Chronology: we don't know when, exactly, Law became a Shichibukai, but I doubt he spent too much time as one. Let's say two months before the Strawhats' reunion at Sabaody.

I hope you enjoy it :)

* * *

 **The Shichibukai: Revelations**

Sengoku reached out for another cracker and was unsurprised to find the plate empty. He nudged Garp with his elbow.

"If you're going to eat them all, at least bring more."

Before Garp could respond (complain, telling Sengoku to do it himself, then comply after Sengoku kicked him out of his chair), a soldier hurried over with two large bags of crackers.

"Why are you two here? You're retired," Sakazuki asked them, apparently done pacing around the room and muttering about how this was an unnecessary waste of his time.

"We don't need your permission to be anywhere, brat," Garp snapped at him. He ripped one of the bags open and proceeded to ignore Sakazuki in a very obvious manner.

Sengoku met Tsuru's eyes across the table. It had taken _months_ before Garp could be in the same room as Sakazuki without violence involved after Marineford, and both Sengoku and Tsuru knew it wouldn't take much for Garp to forget the promise Sengoku had extracted from earlier him about not attacking Sakazuki. Sengoku had refused to let Garp tag along for this trip otherwise.

Fortunately, Sakazuki was no idiot. While Sakazuki scoffed at the reason why Garp hated him, he knew that Garp wouldn't hesitate to attack if provoked, and he also knew that was a fight he wasn't likely to win.

Giving one last disapproving glare in Garp's direction, Sakazuki turned to Sengoku.

"I thought you hated the Shichibukai."

"It's more a matter of hating most of the individuals who become Shichibukai," Sengoku replied, opening his own bag. He didn't mention that he also had his doubts about whether or not the benefits of the organization outweighed its danger; he didn't want to get into that argument. Besides, even if only for today, he was grateful for the position's existence.

"And you don't hate _this one_?" Sakazuki asked, contempt clear in his voice.

Next to Sengoku, Garp scoffed and nearly choked on his food.

Sengoku shared the sentiment.

In Sakazuki's mind, after Marineford Law had risen considerably in the scale Sakazuki used to measure how much he despised a criminal. Sakazuki hadn't been pleased when the Gorosei had decided to appoint Law as a Shichibukai. However, Law had surpassed by far all the other candidates that had been interested in becoming a Shichibukai or those that had been considered for the position by the Gorosei before the arrival of Law's… present.

And yes, Sengoku had laughed quite a lot when he had heard about the stunt with the hearts. It had explained why Law had appeared so often on the newspapers the previous weeks.

Law's presence finally reached the room, and he walked in followed by a very nervous-looking commodore.

"I gather you don't like me much, Sakazuki," Law said with one of his most infuriating smirks in place.

Sengoku sighed, completely unsurprised to learn Law hadn't developed a single ounce of a self-preservation instinct, and readied himself to intercept Sakazuki if Law riled him up too much.

"You're a loose cannon, and I don't like that," Sakazuki told Law. That had actually been, as Sengoku had learned after the decision was made, Sakazuki's main reasoning to reject Law's appointment as a Shichibukai: he had argued that someone crazy enough to enter the battle of Marineford to _save an enemy_ was too much of a wild card, and would prove unreliable if the Shichibukai were called to fight again.

Sakazuki was right, of course, though Sengoku hadn't said it. Sengoku didn't know what, exactly, Law intended to accomplish by becoming a Shichibukai, but Law wasn't the type who wanted the position to settle down in any kind of fashion (be it to give security to an island, such as Hancock, or to play puppet master in half the wars in the world like Doflamingo).

Before Law could reply, Garp jumped out of his chair and practically bounced over to him. Law's smirk didn't waver, but Sengoku knew him well enough to see the apprehension flicker in Law's eyes. Understandable, given how many stories Sengoku had shared with him about Garp.

"Law, right?" Garp greeted cheerfully, clapping Law on the shoulder with the kind of strength that would have sent most people to the ground. Sengoku felt absurdly proud when Law didn't even stumble. "Thanks for saving Luffy!"

"No need for that, it was just a whim," Law replied nonchalantly, which for some reason made Garp laugh.

Sengoku saw Sakazuki's face tense further. Sengoku could sympathize, really: Law had just made himself look even more unpredictable by denying any substantial reason for saving Monkey D. Luffy two years ago. Sengoku was _so_ glad he wasn't the Fleet Admiral anymore.

"If you're _done_ playing nice, Garp," Sakazuki growled, glaring at them.

"Nah, not at all." Garp waved him off. "Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to meet this kid?"

 _Oh, fuck_ , Sengoku thought, yet he couldn't find it in himself to be surprised. Law was still smirking in amusement, the apprehension over Garp's proximity gone. Across from Sengoku, Tsuru shook her head, but she looked amused enough as well. As for Sakazuki, he looked both angry and puzzled. Sakazuki opened his mouth, and Sengoku was certain that he was about to ask something stupid like 'since Marineford?' Nobody would be able to stop Garp if that day was mentioned.

Sengoku made a quick decision.

"Almost ten years," Sengoku said, and Sakazuki whipped his head around to stare at him. "Law is my grandson."

"Adopted," Law amended, knowing him probably half to prevent some questions and half to be an ass.

Sakazuki blinked, staring at Sengoku as though he had never seen him before.

"Your grandson," he repeated finally, his voice even. That was never a good sign with Sakazuki, it was the kind of even voice that preceded a bout of self-righteous yelling.

Sengoku wasn't in the mood for that.

"Unless I missed some extremely screwed-up law, it's not a crime to take care of an orphaned child," he said, and waited for Sakazuki's predictable response.

"He's a criminal."

"That started two years ago."

Everybody turned to stare in shock at Tsuru, the one who had spoken. Sengoku sent her a grateful look. The only ones aside from Sengoku who knew of Law's past involvement with the Donquixote Pirates were Tsuru and Garp, and Sengoku knew Sakazuki wouldn't care at all about the circumstances that had led to that: he would use them to claim Law had already been a criminal as a child.

"You _knew_ about this?" Sakazuki demanded, even more outraged now.

"I learned about Law at the same time as Garp did, yes. He was just a kid back then."

Law's muttered 'I was sixteen' was lost in Sakazuki's much louder and more indignant response.

"Is that why you lot wanted to be here?"

"Of course," Garp said, and Sengoku could see clearly how much he was enjoying Sakazuki's outrage. "I've wanted to meet the kid since forever, but Sengoku never let me tag along." He clapped Law on the shoulder three times again, and Law didn't wince, but Sengoku saw the barely-contained grimace. Garp didn't know how to control his strength.

"It's been a while since I last saw Law," Sengoku added, not bothering to add a date. While now, in his new position, he had no obligation to arrest a criminal, he technically _should_ have arrested Law the last time they met, after Marineford.

"I've been curious about the boy as well," Tsuru said calmly, then fixed one of her no-nonsense stares on Law. "Also, do you have any idea how much work you've given us?"

Law managed to shrug despite Garp's hand on his shoulder.

"I'd say I'm sorry, but I don't like to lie."

Garp laughed again, and Sakazuki looked about ready to explode.

Sengoku sighed.

"Let's get the formalities over with, shall we? I'd like to spend some time with my grandson," _before he goes off to do whatever crazy thing that made him decide to become a Shichibukai_ , he added silently.

"Oh! We could take him around for a tour!" Garp suggested happily.


	12. The Shichibukai: Reprieve

As of an hour ago or so, it's May 20th where I live, which means I'm (sadly) a year older officially. As I usually do this day, I'm posting all the updates I have ready :) They aren't many this year, but still I got a few and I hope you'll review, because they're the best birthday presents I can receive :D

Now this chapter is a bit of a "relax" part, but one I wanted to write. The Shichibukai has one chapter left, and that's one I really want to write. It's important and actually one of the first scenes I planned when this series was born.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one :)

* * *

 **The Shichibukai: Reprieve**

The World Government liked to handle most of the Shichibukai-related affairs at their base on Mariejois. Tsuru had no doubt that it was meant as a show of the government's might for the Shichibukai, even if no one used such words to describe it. Personally, Tsuru thought it had no effect, at least not the desired one. No Shichibukai she had met had ever been impressed or awed by the Holy Land. Doflamingo found his visits hilarious, Mihawk was utterly indifferent to the place and what it represented, Jinbe had hated it… and right now… well, it was clear that Law was no more impressed by Mariejois than Mihawk was.

In fact, Tsuru had to admit that their current situation was quite hilarious.

Law had, of course, accepted Garp's offer of a tour, much to Sakazuki's annoyance. It was clear that while they took care of the last formalities of Law's appointment as a Shichibukai someone had spread the news of his and Sengoku's connection.

They had been gawked at while Garp lead them around to the few interesting spots at this base, and now they were in the mess hall, Garp's favorite area.

If the Mariejois base had something good it was its excellent food, something that many marine bases around the world lacked. Tsuru had watched in some amusement as Law carefully selected his food, displaying the picky eater side that Sengoku had mentioned sometimes. Garp _had_ tried to sneak some bread on Law's plate just for fun and, much to the surrounding marines' horror, Law had retaliated by switching the bread with Garp's plate with his powers.

Garp had just laughed his ass off and eaten the bread while Sengoku shook his head in resigned exasperation.

"So," Garp started once he had a replacement plate, "tell me about the auction house. I know Luffy punched a Tenryuubito, but I don't know _why_."

Tsuru leaned forward, curious about the answer as well. That information hadn't made it into the official report, because no soldier had thought to ask about it.

* * *

"You know, this is the first time I see the old man go all out," Law said, sitting next to Tsuru on the railing of a balcony that overlooked the base's training grounds, now empty save for Sengoku and Garp.

Garp had wanted to test Law's fighting skills, Sengoku had vetoed the idea and the argument that followed had predictably ended in a fight between the two that had sent all the marines who had been training here fleeing the scene.

"He doesn't get to do it very often," Tsuru acknowledged. Garp went through a wall on the opposite side of the training grounds. "It'll be good for his nerves."

"Hm?" Law turned to look at her. "His nerves seem fine to me. He's far more relaxed than usual."

"It's a side effect of retirement," Tsuru said with a snort. "However," she continued, glancing at Law out of the corner of her eye, "we all know he'll be worried sick the moment you leave his sight. Let's not pretend we don't know you're planning something stupid."

Law hummed.

"I'm not sure that's the word I'd use to describe it. I _am_ being very careful to set everything in motion."

Tsuru snorted again. As if being meticulous meant a plan to take down Doflamingo wouldn't be dangerous.

"Just warn him beforehand, will you?"

"I doubt I'll have time to call, but rest assured that you will know it when I make my move."

"That's not reassuring," Tsuru told him, but Law just smirked and focused on the fight below.

Tsuru shook her head. She resolved to keep a close eye on Sengoku for the foreseeable future.

Crazy grandchildren. The brat better not get himself killed.


	13. The Shichibukai: What Time Cannot Heal

**The Shichibukai: What Time Cannot Heal**

Tsuru had agreed to let Sengoku and Law tag along with her to Marineford, which now held the G-1 base. She'd said that she had some things to talk with Momonga that were best discussed in person, but Sengoku knew he owed her a drink or ten for this favor.

This was likely the only time Law would be allowed to set foot on Marineford without any hostilities involved. Sengoku had never been in the habit of deceiving himself; he knew Law wouldn't be a Shichibukai for longer than whatever plan he'd come up with required.

The gossip had already reached G-1 by the time Tsuru's ship anchored at the harbor, but the soldiers had the decency to stay back and whisper to each other from a distance. Momonga welcomed them at the port, his stance somewhere between tense and uncertain (not so deep down, Sengoku knew the knowledge that he had a pirate grandson would gain him some level of distrust, just like Garp with his family) but left with Tsuru shortly after.

Sengoku advanced somberly through the restored streets of the island, Law a silent figure behind him. There were no words to be exchanged, not now. The entire trip from Mariejois, as short as it had been, had been a sober affair in which they had exchanged few words. Sengoku had never thought there would be a day in which he could bring Law to Marineford, not after Law had set sail as a pirate, and neither had Law thought he would ever be here.

Now that Law was here, words were unnecessary.

After nearly half an hour of walking, they left behind the city and the curious looks of its inhabitants, walking down a well-kept path that led to the extensive cemetery of Marineford. They passed headstone after headstone, some well kept and others abandoned by time, until the city was a silhouette in the background and only tombs surrounded them. Most people would be lost here without any form of guidance —there was, in fact, a map showing the numbered rows of graves, and each headstone had a number carved at the bottom right corner to identify it— but Sengoku had been here often, to the point where he could follow this path blindfolded.

Finally, they came to a halt. Tombstone 5683 didn't stand out amongst the others; it was the standard model used throughout the cemetery, and the text in it was simple: name, rank and dates of birth and death. But it was that same plain information that made it so special. That name.

 _Donquixote Rosinante._

Law stopped before the grave, his posture stiff and his knuckles white around Kikoku. His face was unreadable.

Sengoku placed a hand on Law's shoulder, squeezed it briefly, and then walked away. He had been here plenty of times, sometimes talking, others just sitting silently, and he could come back whenever he wanted. Today was for Law, and right now Law needed some time alone.

As he walked away, Sengoku heard the telltale sound of fabric rustling followed by a soft thus and a second, softer sound of something hitting the ground. He didn't turn around, and instead headed into a parallel row of graves. Most of the tombstones here were unattended, coated in grime and with grass and the occasional wild flower taking over them. It made sense, this was a relatively old area of the cemetery, the newest graves over a decade old, and few families of deceased marines remained at Marineford unless they had other relatives stationed here. Most took their departed loved ones with them when they left, but others didn't. This cemetery was a place of rest for those whose entire families were marines, those whom their families would rather forget and those that no one would miss once they were gone.

Kneeling down before a random grave, that of a nineteen year old petty officer who had perished almost twenty years ago, Sengoku opened the bag he'd brought with him and started cleaning out the grime that had darkened the tombstone over the years.

—

Two hours later and out of rags to use, Sengoku returned to Rosinante's grave. Law was on his knees before it, head bowed low, knuckles gripping blades of grass that had long since been pulled out of the ground by the roots and Kikoku lying at his side, forgotten for the time being.

Law didn't react when Sengoku approached, though he did raise his head when Sengoku crouched next to him. His eyes were red at the corners, but whatever tears he had shed had long since dried. The look on them, however, was that one of self-doubt that sometimes took over him and which Sengoku hated to see.

Laying a hand on Law's shoulder again, Sengoku hesitated for just a moment before drawing him in. Under normal circumstances Law would have complained, teleported away and perhaps tried to attack him. Right now, he just sagged into Sengoku.

"He'd be proud of you," Sengoku said, well aware that Law was plagued by what Rosinante would think of him. "Despite being an annoying pirate. You're a good person, Law, and whatever you're planning," and Sengoku really didn't want to know, "it'll help free a country. He'd be really proud." _And you're alive_. Sengoku didn't say this out loud, aware that those words would only trigger Law's survivor guilt, but he knew that Rosinante would be grinning that wide grin of his at the fact that Law had lived to turn twenty-six, the double of the time anyone had expected him to survive.


End file.
